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He took Bee down the hall, away from the creature. A health crystal and a snack was the best treatment Morningstar could come up with. She was tough. She had been inches towards death, but she was okay. The paralysis wore off quicker than either of them expected. It killed Morningstar that he had been stupid enough to let her anywhere near the Shambler, knowing full well what her level was. He left her to herself, but stayed near by in case she needed him. It wasn’t a safezone, but mobs usually steered clear of the outpost, choosing their lives over succumbing to Morningstar’s blade. He r

Mari accepted the damp rag in one hand, and the crystal in the other. “Do…I really look that bad?” She asked. And…of course she had. She had been cooped up for so long that time had lost all meaning. She sighed as she roughly wiped it over her face, mildly surprised that it had been warm. Raidou was oddly…thoughtful. She guessed he had been preparing for this moment for a very, very, long time. She grimaced when she looked down at the grime, a simple wipe of her face wouldn’t be enough. She’d need to actually shower. "AND NO CLIFFS. that I will tell you what to do." “Depends..." Mar

Bee | Lv.6 | HP: 120/120 | EN: 30/30 He hesitated before the cage. Dying Sun had the habit of hurting its foes, but it was the only form of paralysis they had. The Shambler needed to be sedated for Bee to safely attempt her skills. He drew his blade and stuck it between the bars of the cage. The Shambler squirmed, letting out a screech at the sight of the weapon. “I’m sorry,” Star muttered, jabbing the creature as gently as possible. He did it again. And again. Over and over, he stabbed it until the paralysis took effect. Bee watched in silence. “Start with First Aid,” Morn

That smile of his doesn't fade as she begins completely poking holes in that flip around. "Alright alright, you got me. I was so flipped upside down I thought you wanted the rock, ok?" He'd hand her the rag and the teleport crystal, after tapping it and predesignating its coordinates. He'd give her the opportunity to wipe her face, straighten her hair a little if she was so inclined. "Mari?" The mental freeze finally clearing, she'd start to move and accept in a way that actually would strike Raidou with a mild shock. There was some growth after all. That was not the answer he'd been

“Just messing with me?” Came Mari’s incredulous reply, she placed her free hand on her hip, raising her eyebrows at him. Her tone was almost accusatory, as if to say ‘I know you weren’t, dumbass but instead of saying that - she simply took a step back, shrugging her shoulders. “Of course you were.” She made sure her tone was as deadpan as possible, speaking with a robotic cadence. “You. Were. Just. Messing. With. Me.” This…felt nice. The casual banter between them. The more Mari spoke to him, the more she realzied she just…missed this. Missed everything. She missed moving about, talking.

*side note: had to use an image because the board hates mirrored text Listening to her voice it felt almost unreal, another induced day dream between them that always bordered a nightmare. Not quite comfortable but not quite painful either. "Uh, Of course." he'd toss the thing over his right shoulder, allowing it to clatter to the wall and flop pathetically to the ground like a wet napkin. Clapping his open hand against his forehead with an audible slap. "I was just messing with you." He'd offer a smile to dismiss his own stupidity and embarrassment. Mainly to just scratch some of that real

It took one minute, then two, then three till Raidou finally moved again. He clambered back, almost comically so out of his seat - as though whatever paused in his mind had started moving again. Mari watched with a quizzical look as he glanced over his shoulder at a glowstone. Did he ... .there was no way he thought she meant that did he? Mari very specifically told him she wanted to feel the sun on her skin. Not the dim cold light of some magicked stone. Surely he… Nope. Mari watched as he tripped, grabbed the stone then shoved it unceremoniously through the bars in her direct

A shock like static through the system that caused him to pause, the book whisked so carelessly to the cobbled stone beneath him bouncing off its spine. A thought races through his head, causing him to lift a finger but no sound comes out. Then another with a metaphorical lightbulb flickering to life in his mind causing his finger to become rigged once more, but nothing twice that causes it to become flaccid. The swordsman clears his throat, struggling on the notion that a question he'd asked every visit was finally actually considered. Her decision, her choice. Finally feeling like she'd paid

Click Click Click Click The monotonous steps echoed in a soft rhythm, closer and closer they descended. Mari drew in a long breath and held it. Somehow, those simple monotonous sounds…gave her a sense of relief. She wasn’t forgotten. He wasn’t dead. Time moved forward. Mari didn’t have to lift her head to know who it was. Raidou. Perhaps the only person in the entirety of Aincrad that knew where she was. That is. If he kept his word. And if those she had once sought, so long ago, were still lost. She exhaled as the final, gentle

The dark and narrow corridors of dimly lit stone walls continued unending. Temperatures dropped into almost winter levels as the mans breath would start to become visible. A set of goblins here, a ghoul or two there. Wave after wave as he passed cell after cell. Black metal bars of iron long forgotten, stood unmoving and empty with that that they trapped inside. A rat cuts across the room, as the nomad's foot finds a puddle formed from droplets that rhythmically tap in from cracks above. The strike of a match would see a sconce on the wall spring to life, offering a warm glow that felt almost

PH ---- Post Action: [x15] ST-I (12 EN +2 ST Shift) 14 - (Rested 2/2; Stamina) = 11 EN Free Action: None ID#: 244146 | BD: 6+7= 13 HIT! | 46*15=690-80= 610 DMG vs Spectral Knight! Wulfrin | HP: 966/966 | EN: 103/116 | DMG: 26 30 (+4) | MIT:75 | ACC:7 | AA | EVA:2 | PARA-IM | BH:32 | FLN: 8 | FRB: 40 | TXC-V: 32 | FRZ: 64 | LD:8 | PROSP:3 | DOTE: 3/3 | PROB:36 Hirru | HP: 1160/1160 | EN: 112/112 | DMG: 1 | MIT: 187 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 2 | BH: 58 | HLY BLS: 46 | MENDING: 2 | REC: 8 | LD: 5 | THRNS: 76 | PARA | PROB: 36 | DOTE: 3/3 | {CD: PtA 0/3} Zajcica | HP: 1012/1012 |

Astra watched as his doppleganger seemingly regained its footing after his sword art. The cloaked figure bearing his face seemingly stared through Astra's sky blue eyes and deep into the elegy of his soul. Through gritted teeth, the figure responded to his questions. For a moment, Astra was taken aback. Was he truly fighting a losing battle? Was there some truth carried along with The Gemini's words? As he took a moment to ponder the question, Astra never removed his sight from the Gemini, as there was uncertainty on if the creature would strike again. The white-haired youth took a sm

Squealing, the four boars charged and attacked her all at once. She side-stepped the first two, and brought her shield up to bounce the third before slicing the last one with botan. Their health bars and damage were much improved over the first-floor counterparts, but Acanthus had also come a long way since then. She recalled struggling to fight them one-by-one all those months ago; now, she was dancing with four without breaking a sweat. Her armor made her near invincible. But it was more than that. Her confidence in the game had grown as well. She learned more and more, studied the rule

She was no longer on floor twenty. Or, if she was, it was somewhere she had never been before. She recognized the slate black walls and glowing blue lines as the default dungeon aesthetic. But the space was far bigger than the info brokers led her to believe. Without thinking, she drew her sword and shield. A shower of pixels fell from the air, forming solid shapes. Acanthus held her breath, anxious at what sort of creature would spawn in such a mysterious place. She scoffed out loud to see it was nothing more than a boar. The same kind of monster she had killed on her first day out in th

A streak of red dust vanished in the distance, ending at a stony wall. Finally. The next question was obvious: how do I get inside? Had it not been for reveal, the cliffside appeared perfectly normal: its jagged face climbed up and out of sight, crowded by trees and other greenery that hid the sky. No blemishes or smoothness marked an entrance. Perhaps a pass phrase was required. As she opened her mouth to speak, she felt static on her tongue. Her lips rolled backwards at the unpleasant feeling, and her hand reached up to feel what was the matter. Nothing felt out of place; a quick l

Acanthus blinked a few times, wondering how to summon her new skill. It supposedly made dungeons much easier to find. But how was she supposed to use it? She blinked again. Maybe there was some kind of pattern? Surely it didn’t involve going into and out of the menu to activate it. What if the solution was painfully obvious? “Reveal.” Her normal vision washed away, replacing objects with faint outlines of themselves. Some objects flashed green or white; those appeared to contain trace materials or col that she could gather. But she’d already established gathering was a waste of time. Mons

That did the trick. And in about sixty percent of the time she had allocated for the task. What to do next? If Pinball were here, then they could go pick up some lootable mobs and wipe them out for easy col. You idiot. You don’t need him for the loot minimum mobs anymore. Just go out and do it yourself. She almost opened her map to look for some high-level areas she’d previously marked. Instead, her finger brushed up onto her inventory, pulling up a list of disorganized junk that made her spine shiver. She’d get around to organizing it someday. Right before she closed it, the pile of unus

She could hear the boss’s labored breathing through the dense green leaves. One last attack would finish it off. Charging into the brush, she prepared to end the fight. The cat, unused to its prey charging into its domain, waited a brief moment before turning into a ball of teeth and claws. It scratched and bit at her gear, but no amount of rage would penetrate her armor. She let the thing tire itself out before delivering the coup de grace. She was careful to avoid looking at its eyes. She hadn’t shaken how pitiful Kumatestu appeared in its final moments. She had no doubt the game would

Acanthus leveled her sword and issued a challenge to the cat. “Pspspspspspspsps.” With a touch of lethargy, the cat leapt from the foliage to attack once more. Reflexively, Acanthus moved to dodge the attack. I should be letting myself get hit. It hurts the boss more than it hurts me. But she found it difficult to suppress her instincts. Scared or not, when something giant leaps out of the bushes, its only natural to try and move out of the way. Batting away the thing’s swiping paws, she brought her sword up, and drove it between the cat’s shoulders. It yowled and leaped back into th

The cat’s health moved down steadily, while Acanthus’s could barely go down before her battle healing brought it back up. And with her high energy reserves (which she appreciated having after the meager EN granted in the player-killing tournament), Suturesu would be dead before she even realized it. The only frustrating thing about the fight was how quick the puma was to dodge her attacks. Of course when Cardinal has evasion, it always works. But when players use it, Cardinal just chews through their defenses anyways with lucky hits. Her songs unleashed their baleful cries, but the boss h

How many days… How many weeks…months… Years…. – – – – Mari had tried, she had tried so hard. Irrevocably, really, truly, wanted nothing more than to help each and every player still trapped within the confines of Aincrad to wake up. She pushed through the pain, the glares, the spiteful comments - because they were all justified. The fear and hatred from others that had been relentlessly aimed at her... It was all warranted. Mari could explain, and justify her actions till she was blue in the face - but it didn’t make up for it. Nothing she did had. Rather, those

But as the cat leapt from the shadows again, its paws barely grazed her half-plate armor. And Acanthus was reminded that in a worst-case scenario, mitigation was always important. Evasion was useful until the boss cornered you, and you had nowhere to go. Then, what was protecting you? Some people made it work. Jomei had survived Callisto’s wrath using speed and wits. But Acanthus didn’t have much of either. She was best suited for simplistic probabilities and pessimistic outcomes. And her pessimism strongly led her to a single point; she was always going to get hit at the worst times. Why

Standing here, unassailable against one of the later bosses, Acanthus almost felt bored. She still appreciated the sense of control these predetermined fights had, but they didn’t excite her. It was the equivalent of being the low-level employee forced to go out and get coffee, or the unfortunate clerk stuck with refiling a disorganized cabinet. It was necessary work, but it was the kind of work that didn’t leave you feeling like you’d done anything useful. Suturesu melted back into the jungle, and Acanthus’s mind wandered. The thing would be back on its own time, out of the darkness to h

A presence approached from behind her. She felt a tingle in her spine as the game warned her of the impending boss. The reaction was purely physical; mentally, she was no more alarmed than if she’d seen a cat in an alley. She angled her body slighty, trying to spot the puma without spooking it. “One-hundred and twenty five damage,” she said. “You can try to break through my defenses, but I think you will be hard pressed. The only question for today is how long the fight will last. And that’s entirely up to you, Suturesu.” The shadows became solid as the lithe boss prepared to attack. Acan